Slideshow

Confucius Plaza to Columbus Park, dim sum to muyu drum—Chinatown is so jam-packed with life and culture that it was named to the National Register of Historic Places in 2010. However, defining what is and isn't Chinatown is still nebulous: Even if you're downing dumplings, rummaging through knick-knacks with European tourists, and hearing the hum of Buddhist chants from a nearby temple, according to the purists, you may not even be in real Chinatown.

The Chinatown of today manages to remain a tight-knit ethnic neighborhood where Cantonese, Mandarin and other dialects are the talk of the day. Multiple generations of families live close together in walk-up apartments above shops and restaurants. However, as Chinatown continues to........ read more